Post Book Festival Blues and the C-word (no, not that one!)
Some of you might know (writing these things is so weird as I am not sure if anyone other than maybe my mother reads my blog!) that I have been planning a children’s book festival. Conversations with my husband started around March-time maybe, with me saying things like ‘I wish there were more book events locally’ and ‘I am setting a goal that in the next 5 years I am going to organise a book festival here!’ to ‘I have emailed a few authors just to see how these things might work and I have checked out a few possible funding options’… to 7 months and 2 friends volunteering to help later, the inaugural 2 Rivers Children’s Book Festival took place in Dumbarton on the 13th October! There were 11 ticketed events plus a range of drop-in activities at 6 venues across the town. Feedback was positive, I had over 70 feedback forms returned with 100% saying they would return to similar events and 90% answering ‘Very Satisfied’ and 10% with ‘Satisfied’ to the question ‘How satisfied were you with the event overall’. But, a bit like Christmas, I am feeling a bit flat the day after. Post Book Festival Blues. I have become used to my brain being less happy when it’s less busy (20+ years of of living with anxiety and OCD!). And I have been flat out organising this book festival, working 4 days a week as a teacher, trying to keep the bookshop’s Instagram page up to date in the hope I might start attracting customers (I love my wee online bookshop, but a big/any profit it does not make!) and running around after my wonderful, curious and VERY energetic two kids. I have had to check in with myself that I am doing okay and not making myself so ridiculously busy to distract from something else my brain would rather not think about. I did this after my Dad died, just worked tirelessly for a year as that way my brain didn’t have a chance to think anything - but like pushing a beach ball underwater, eventually you tire and it smacks you in the face! I don’t think I am running away from thoughts just now but I do have to check in with myself every now and then and question why am I doing all these things? I do think I have to find a balance. I think partly I needed to feel positive about something in 2025 (I’m very grateful for my friends and family and for many, many things in my life but the World is a scary sh*t-show right now!) With each passing year I struggle more and more with the World I worry we are leaving our children. I don’t need to go into detail - see previous blog posts! So maybe I needed to do something positive that was within my control. As many other things feel completely out of my control, or any control! I see the book festival as a hobby too. You become a parent and you kind of lose yourself - or at least I did - and I’ve been questioning what do I even like doing these days?! So this is something. A thing for me. A thing that I enjoyed immensely up until the last few weeks and then it got a little frantic and my perfectionism and control issues were under pressure! I want to give what I can to my community. And I can share my joy of children’s books with people. Very happily. Probably not coincidentally, it’s 20 years to the day this week that my Dad died. Dead Dad Day 20th Anniversary Special Edition I call it. I think Dad would be proud of what I achieved this week but also telling me to take it easy! So i think if…when…if….when….I plan this again, I am going to ask for more help! And make sure to check how cold venues get in October so I can get in suitable heating! And work out how to offer free events but improve attendance at them! As nearly all the events were sold out on Eventbrite but then on the day quite a few no-shows. How do you balance offering activities where you don’t want financial factors to be a barrier but you don’t want people not to value the tickets they reserve and not show up? If anyone is in the Book Festival world, all advice welcome!
Now the book festival is done, I turn my attention to CHRISTMAS! (I have a problem don’t I, I don’t think I know how to relax! But I love books, but is that relaxing?! Who needs therapy when you have a blog to work out your issues!) The end of September and start of October see a lot of new festive books being published. A few new beauties going up on my site are:
The gorgeous ‘Secrets from the North Pole’ written by Santa’s Head Elf and Saskia Gwinn, illustrated by Daria Danilova. Beautiful illustrations and full of ‘facts’ in this ‘non-fiction’ wonder.
‘Dasher and the Polar Bear’ by Matt Tavares. This is the third book in the Dasher series and it’s northern light dappled pages are simply stunning.
Wide Eye’s ‘Listen to the Music at Christmas’ by Mary Richards and Skylar White gave me a warm and fuzzy feeling thanks to some evocative Christmas classics. Carol singing always makes me happy/sad. A bit like the whole season!
The Twelve Days of Christmas by Brian Wildsmith - gorgeous artwork pairs up beautifully with this classic Christmas carol.
‘I Am Wishing Every Minute For Christmas’ by Lauren Child is a brand new book in the Charlie and Lola series which is now celebrating it’s 25th anniversary! It has all the charm and humour you would expect.
‘Hello Santa’ by Sharon King-Chai is a seasonal offering from her mirrored board-book series and I bloomin’ love it!
‘The Street Where Santa Lives’ by Harriet Howe & ‘Slide and Peek Santa’ by Hector Dexet (big fan of his style) are both books I have bought myself copies of to add to our Christmas book collection.
Old favourites going back up on the site include ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas by Clement C Moore and Roger Duvoisin. I love an unusually dimensioned book and this tall skinny number is a belter! With bold illustrations in a palette of red, blue, yellow and green, Duvoisin’s illustrations make full use of the book’s scale. We read this version of the classic Christmas poem every Christmas Eve and I love it more each year!
‘How Does Santa Go Down The Chimney’ by Mac Barnett & Jon Klassen is as funny and quirky as you would expect. Just be prepared with a good answer for the inevitable Q&A follow up by your child about the physics of Santa getting into your house!
‘Grandpa Christmas’ by Michael Morpurgo and Jim Field does not make it clear by its front cover that it’s a tear jerker. So I warn you now! I teared up reading it in the bookshop and then had to buy it (and not just because my tears had dripped onto its pages!).
‘Olivia Helps With Christmas’ by Ian Falconer has been a favourite of mine long before I had children of my own however, on more recent readings of it I’ve realised there are several similarities between my wee girl and the character of Olivia. I empathise with her parents very much!
In solidarity with all of my fellow early bird Christmas shoppers there is 10% off all books in the Christmas is Coming category online! (It’s less than 70 days to go now!)
